Bill Nye Should Be the Climate Guy After This Showdown With CNN Host

It’s time for another awkward CNN “Crossfire” segment. This time, the show’s host S.E. Cupp accuses television’s “science guy” Bill Nye, along with the Obama administration and other scientists, of using “scare tactics” to convince people that climate change exists.

Nye appeared on the debate-style show Tuesday night to discuss the third National Climate Assessment, a landmark report documenting the current and projected impact of climate change on the US. The debate-style show pinned Nye against Nick Loris, an economist with the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, and quickly turned into its own natural disaster.

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Loris spent the majority of the time questioning the validity of the report, which was released by the White House, but then clarifying that he is “not a denier” and “not a skeptic” of climate change.

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That part was tame compared to the real showdown which occurred between Nye and Cupp, who seemed to use leading questions to suggest Nye was bullying people into believing climate change exists (when it doesn’t?)

“Isn’t it a problem when ‘science guys’ attempt to bully other people?” Cupp asked Nye. “Because really, the science group has tried to shame anyone who dares question this, and the point I’m trying to make is, it’s not working with the public.”

Here’s a synopsis of Cupp’s argument: Climate change may exist. It may not. But either way, scientists are making it sound scary.

Nye said the report—which was prepared by a scientific panel—along with remarks made by scientists about the phenomenon are meant to “inform” people and “get the message out.”

At one point, Nye turned the tables on Cupp and Loris and asked what would change their minds about the evidence that climate change exists. Loris answered that better science would do it for him. But then again, he is “not a denier.”

“This third report came out saying it’s very serious,” he told Cupp. “You say no. There’s the essence of the problem. The science, the researchers say yes.”

Nye then said, “Let’s just start with we don't agree on the facts.”

Is Nye serious? You bet he is.

Cupp asked Nye to look him in the eye and tell her that “Climate change is our most urgent, number one priority right now.”

“Climate change is our most urgent, number one priority right now,” Nye responded.